No one’s ever going to mistake a guy who named his band Hoobastank for a genius, but singer-guitarist Doug Robb is smart enough to realize that his grunge heroes didn’t need to be as complex as they thought they were. Hoobastank smooth out the cryptic Sturm und Drang of Pearl Jam and reanimate Kurt Cobain as a guy whose biggest problem was waiting forever to know if we’re together. Robb’s theme has always been fortitude through love’s trials, but the ’Stank’s real obsession is formula—the sturdy A/B rhyme, the grandly surging chorus, the self-actualized underdog salvo (“Why can’t I just make my turn today?” he wonders on “My Turn”). Album four is especially monochrome gut-check metal, so flourishes of mellow pianos or cargo-shorts funk are as welcome as a bag of Skittles in a pack of combat rations. Even Kurt knew that soldiers need some sweets.

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